Students at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas kicked off Domestic Violence Awareness Month this past Wednesday. Voices Against Violence, a program organized by the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center put together the event. Program coordinators, workers, and volunteers passed out 2,000 carnations attached to stories of Texans who died in 2008 because of domestic violence. An arch of purple balloons was set up on campus where students read aloud some of the stories, discussed warning signs of abusive relationship and gave spoken-word performances. Click here to read more about this amazing event.
admin DVAM, awareness, news
 loveisrespect has an exciting campaign to share with all of you! We are taking part in My Time to Shine, a joint venture with Grammy award winning artist Martina McBride along with her daughter Delaney. We want to educate both teens and parents on safe dating habits and get the word out about teen dating abuse. Click here to visit our campaign page and get more info. Be sure to take our cool, new dating quiz as well!
admin Media, general, loveisrespect media, news
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and there are a ton of ways you can support the cause. We put together a list of cool things you can do this month to help spread awareness.
- Put a purple ribbon up as your facebook/twitter/myspace profile pic to show your support for ending domestic violence.
- Post a link on your profiles to www.loveisrespect.org to spread healthy dating awareness and let your friends know about the awesome resources we have if they ever need help.
- Send anti-dating violence awareness mass texts to your friends.
- Organize an anti-dating violence rally at your school.
- Submit an article on teen dating violence awareness to your school newspaper.
- Write a letter to get a Teen Dating Abuse curriculum in your school; Dosomething.org has great info on the steps you need to take.
- Create an anti-dating violence PSA and post it to your YouTube account.
- Print out our Teen Dating Bill of Rights and post it around school (with permission from school officials).
- Print out our quiz cards and hand them out at local events.
- Create a LOVE Mashup and send it to your friends to promote healthy dating habits.
- Create a project for It’s Time to Talk Day. DoSomething.org is offering $250 Grants for your projects. Click here for more info.
mpotyrala Uncategorized, awareness, general, resources, volunteer ideas
So you’re back to school now. Walking down the hallway with your new clothes on, seeing the friends you missed during the summer, and feeling confident. Then “the ex” walks by. Your heart jumps…..but not in a good way. At the end of the last school year you broke up with him because he had become very controlling and you found that you were scared to be around him. The summer was amazing because you were free and away from him. But now you’re back in the same school as him.
Some ways to stay safe would be to have a friend or two that you can walk with between classes. If he does approach you it might be a good idea to walk away. If you have plans after school make sure that you have a ride home so that you’re not hanging out outside alone. If you do feel threatened then it might be a good idea to talk to your school counselor about him. You should always be able to feel safe at school.
But most importantly, enjoy yourself and have fun during these next few years in high school.
admin guest bloggers, peer advocates
